46 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
ly tied. Pruning that has been neglected 
should be attended to as soon as the weather 
will allow. Grape vines should be pruned 
long before the bud? begin to start; the same 
holds true of the currants and gooseberries, 
in which vegetation begins very early, hence 
should be among the first things transplanted. 
Kitchen and Market Garden. 
Wherever he may be, the successful gardener 
is always in readiness for the busy season 
when it comes with its rush of work. Much 
in-door work, and some that is out-of-doors, 
can now be done in way of preparation. 
Implements should be overhauled and put in 
working order. All edged tools, and even 
the hoes, spades, and cultivator-teeth, should 
be sharp and ready for use.... Cold Frames 
need almost daily attention, especially as the 
warmth of the sun increases, and there is 
therefore danger of the plants starting into 
growth. For the very earliest cauliflower, 
cabbages, lettuce, etc., cold frames in which 
plants, from seed sown in autumn, are kept 
for early spring planting, are essential; but 
in the absence of these the next best 
method is to start the plants in a hot-bed. 
The growing of vegetable plants may often 
be a source of considerable income, as very 
many who have gardens will prefer to buy 
than raise their plants. It is about as much 
trouble to raise a hundred as a thousand 
plants, and with a reputation in the neigh¬ 
borhood for always having a good stock of 
choice sorts on hand, one can make the grow¬ 
ing of plants a source of income. Hot-beds 
as a general rule, should be started about six 
weeks before the plants are set out in the 
open ground. With the great range of 
climate which our country presents, we can 
not be specific, but for cabbage and lettuce— 
the two earliest plants which go out—the 
market gardeners near New York begin oper¬ 
ations the middle of February. The first of 
March is not far from the proper time to 
start a hot-bed for a private garden for the 
climate of New York .... Those who have 
no hot-beds and only desire a few early 
plants can grow them in boxes placed in the 
kitchen windows. The soil for the boxes 
should be light and rich. Sow the seeds not 
over half an inch deep, and for most a less 
depth is preferable. Press the soil closely 
upon the seeds.... In cabbages nothing is 
earlier than Jersey Wakefield ; Henderson’s 
Early Summer is but little later and much 
harder and heavier—for medium, to come on 
after the above, sow Winningstadt. For 
cauliflower the Early Erfurt is most generally 
sown. Tennis Ball, Boston Market and But¬ 
ter are the best heading varieties of lettuce. 
.... Novelties are offered every year ; and to 
those who can afford the room and the time, 
it is interesting to make trials of new sorts, 
but to depend upon untested varieties of any 
kind for the main crop is not a safe policy. 
Aside from the greater neatness and con¬ 
venience, when tomato vines are trained to a 
trellis or other support, the saving of fruit 
more than pays the cost of making it. A 
large number who have first used a trellis at 
our suggestion, have sent descriptions 
and drawings of those they have con¬ 
trived, and nearly every spring we 
have given one or more styles. So 
many trellises have been published 
that we supposed the variety had been 
exhausted, but “V. F.,” who is in 
Carlisle, Ont., comes with one different 
from any other, and has some good 
points. As our correspondent proper¬ 
ly says : “ Now is the time to make 
them; if left until the tomatoes are 
planted, there will be no time for the 
trellises.” His trellis is of four square or round 
stakes, cedar is the most durable, 3 feet 2 
inches long and an inch or an inch and a 
quarter through. Twelve cross bars are re¬ 
quired, of f-inch stuff; these are rounded off 
at the end to i inch. Figure 6 shows one 
side of the trellis. To construct it the stakes 
are laid on the bench or the floor and marked, 
so that the holes will be at the right angle ; 
the boring is done with a ^-inch bit, and when 
the cross-bars are in, they are held in place 
by a small nail put through the stakes and 
their ends. Two sides like this are made, 
and joined by other cross-bars, the holes for 
which may be just above or below those al¬ 
ready made.” In setting the frames, dig a 
square hole large enough for the bottom part, 
and about six inches deep ; put in the frame, 
giving a single tap upon the end of each 
stake, and fill in the earth, packing it firmly 
around the stakes, and set the plant in the 
middle, leaving the earth around it a little 
hollow. The flaring shape of the trellis al¬ 
lows the clusters of 
fruit to hang free 
and exposed on all 
sides. As the stems 
grow they will fall 
over the bars, and 
need but little 
training save to oc¬ 
casionally place a 
cluster of fruit 
over a bar, so that 
its weight will be 
supported, and you will be delighted to 
see how nicely they hang all around the 
frame. When the season is over, lift the 
frames, scrape the earth from the lower ends, 
and place one within another, to store away 
for next year. A dozen can be put together, 
like strawberry baskets, and take but little 
room.”—For training the plants singly this is 
evidently an excellent method ; in the back 
volumes several styles are given tor trellises 
to be used for the plants in rows. Whichever 
method is preferred, the caution to make 
them ready in advance should be heeded. 
Flower Garden and Lawn. 
If any considerable changes are to be made 
in this departments it will facilitate the work 
greatly to have a map drawn accurately to a 
scale to guide in the operations. This plan¬ 
ning should therefore all be done beforehand, 
so that no time may be lost. The care against 
heavy snows which often break down the 
evergreen trees, as mentioned last month, 
may be needed still. Manure may now be 
spread upon the lawn, but unless well rotted 
and entirely free from weed seeds, it is 
better to depend upon artificial fertilizers. 
Cannas and other large rooted plants stored 
in the cellar will need attention, and all de¬ 
cayed portions removed. Sow the seeds of 
the annuals for early use in window boxes. 
Greenhouse and Window Plants. 
At this time the greenhouse and window 
plants are most enjoyed, and the care of pre¬ 
vious months is giving the richest returns. 
Special attention should be paid to ventila¬ 
tion, that the plants may have enough fresh 
air, at the same time not unduly exposing 
them to the cold. Leaving a window open 
for a half hour may chill and injure plants 
standing near them. The boxes of sand and 
soil for the propagation of verbenas, gerani¬ 
ums, etc., will need to be provided now. 
Bring from the cellar at intervals pots of 
Hyacinths, Narcissus, etc., to come into 
bloom. For a succession of flowers continue 
sowing seeds of mignonette, sweet alyssum, 
candy-tuft, and others of like nature. 
Thorough-bred Gobblers. 
Thorough breeding in the poultry yard 
pays quite as well as among larger animals, 
though very little attention is paid to it. 
Most farmers are satisfied with breeding 
turkeys from the runts of the flock, which 
generally means birds hatched in August or 
September, which have not had time to 
mature for the Thanksgiving and Christmas 
markets. Toms weighing 15 pounds, and 
hens 10 pounds, will indeed perpetuate the 
race, but there is veiy little profit in breed¬ 
ing such stock, when birds, a third or more 
heavier, are within their reach, and can be 
bred with no more care or cost. The intro¬ 
duction of a thorough-bred Bronze or Nar- 
ragansett gobbler, weighing twenty pounds 
or more, at eight months from the shell, 
among a flock of mongrel turkey hens, will 
add from three to five pounds weight per 
head to the turkeys raised the first season. 
The cost of such a young cock is not far from 
$5. Suppose a hundred birds to be raised, 
the gain would be about 400 pounds, which, 
at the price that Rhode Island turkeys 
brought the past season in Eastern markets, 
20 cents a pound, would be $80. As turkeys 
with a good range get their own living 
through the summer, the most of this is clear 
gain to the farmer. It will pay those who raise 
turkeys to invest in thorough-bred gobblers. 
“ America and Sts Farming 1 .” — 
Mr. C. S. Read, M. P., Assistant Agricultural 
Commissioner to Her Majesty, and who, with 
Mr. Pell, has spent a number of months in 
the United States, in the investigation of our 
agriculture, recently gave an address, with 
the above title, before the London Farmers’ 
Club. It is an address of great interest to us 
as well as to our English brethren. Messrs. 
Reed and Pell travelled and investigated 
under the Royal Commission, and had every 
opportunity afforded them for making well- 
founded conclusions. Mr. Read thinks there 
is no cause for fear in the enormous and fer¬ 
tile areas of the far West. American con¬ 
sumption is increasing and the center of pop¬ 
ulation is fast moving westward ; the virgin 
fertility is being wasted, etc. The English 
agriculturists’ greatest cause for alarm, ac¬ 
cording to the Commissioner, is not so much 
what the American farmer produces, as what 
Fig. 6.—TOMATO .TRELLIS. 
